The Politics Of Decency

Artists should not expect to receive public funds for putrid works. But neither should they have to surrender their freedom of expression to every political whim or know-nothing criticism.

A federal judge in Los Angeles has tried to draw that distinction in his decision that invalidates a loosely worded decency test imposed by Congress on the National Endowment for the Arts. The 1990 law says that all grant applicants must be judged on the basis of "general standards of decency and respect for the diverse beliefs and values of the American public."

That's just what U.S. District Judge A. Wallace Tashima asked of government lawyers defending the decency requirement from the attack of four performing artists who were rejected by the NEA. "The right of artists to challenge conventional wisdom and values is a cornerstone of artistic and academic freedom, no less than the rights of scientists funded by the National Institutes of Health," Judge Tashima wrote.

That's not to say that no standards can be applied. But the NEA should make its decision on artistic merit, not political correctness.

The endowment has been in deep trouble with conservatives ever since it supported exhibitions of works by the late Robert Mapplethorpe and Andres Serrano. The Mapplethorpe exhibit, which was a great hit at the Wadsworth Atheneum, was denounced as homoerotic. One Serrano photo was of a crucifix in urine.

The four performers who were rejected have created the same kind of furor. Some dance in the nude. Some talk about male and female homosexuality.

At least some of the works of these performers may not qualify for taxpayers' support. But that doesn't mean the decency test should screen out all work by gays or lesbians. That kind of discrimination should be as unacceptable as artistic censorship on political grounds